UP minister makes a grave of trees to host wedding

A powerful Uttar Pradesh minister, however, showed scant regard for environment and allegedly got hundreds of young trees felled for his nephew's marriage to make space at the venue in Ghaziabad town near Delhi.

It was also alleged that organisers had taken direct connection from the passing high tension wires and the permission of the power department was not obtained nor was any payment made to it.

According to reports, the wedding of Vivek Upadhyaya, the nephew of state power minister and BSP supremo Mayawati's close confidant Ramveer Upadhyaya, was solemnised on Wednesday at a park in the Vasundhara locality in the town.

The space available in the park was not adequate enough to accommodate hundreds of guests, including VIPs, who were to attend the wedding ceremony, reports said.
There were hundreds of trees in the park, plannted by local civic authorites a few years ago.

Reports claimed that over a hundred trees were felled by the organisers to ensure more space and accommodate the guests, which included several ministers and senior BSP leaders.

Environmental activists have sharply reacted to the felling of the trees and decried the minister for ordering their cutting. A case has been registered against the minister on the complaint of local environmentalist Vinod Baghel, reports said.

The minister's brother, Vinod Upadhyaya, however, strongly refuted the allegations and denied that the power minister had ordered felling of the trees.

“Some branches of the trees were cut down as high tension wires passed over them and they posed risk to the guests...the branches were entangled with the electric wires,” he claimed further.

Upadhyaya also dismissed allegations of power theft and claimed that a temporary power connection had been taken and necessary payments were made.